Berks County

POPULATION BY RACE

On the 2000 Census questionnaire, "race"
and "Hispanic ethnicity"
are listed as separate questions. A person of Hispanic ethnicity is anyone who identifies with that social group, and so can be of any race. This can make data on race and ethnicity difficult to interpret.

Race data is also difficult to compare from Census to Census because categories have changed over time. For example, the 2000 Census was the first to offer the category "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander," and those people could have responded in a number of different ways in previous years.

The 2000 Census also marked the first time that respondents were allowed to select more than one racial category. On earlier Censuses, multiracial individuals were asked to choose a single racial category, or respond as "Some Other Race." For more information on the multiracial population in 2000, please see the multiracial profile.

If you are interested in the distribution of races in cities and across
metropolitan areas, you might find our section on segregation
to be helpful.

Hispanic Population and Race Distribution for Non-Hispanic Population

1980

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population

312,509

100.00%

336,523

100.00%

373,638

100.00%

Total Hispanics

9,013

2.88%

17,174

5.10%

36,357

9.73%

White*

294,049

94.09%

307,387

91.34%

317,025

84.85%

Black*

7,508

2.40%

9,214

2.74%

12,478

3.34%

American Indian and Eskimo*

164

0.05%

265

0.08%

397

0.11%

Asian*

1,247

0.40%

2,334

0.69%

3,713

0.99%

Hawaiian and Pacific Islander*

-

-

-

-

57

0.02%

Other*

528

0.17%

149

0.04%

320

0.09%

Two or More Races*

-

-

-

-

3,291

0.88%

* Non-Hispanic
only; in 1980 and 1990 "Asians" includes Hawaiians and Pacific
Islanders.